Surprise!!!

You know when you make a plan that’s going to unfold over a period of time - at the start of the plan things normally progress at a pace that you set with the end game in sight. So, what do you do when those in charge change the rules?

I guess you have two choices. You can panic or you can get excited. We panicked for about two and a half minutes then got a bit excited. The event that caused this heart flutter was a phone call from Toni yesterday morning (Tuesday), who is “somebody” to do with “something” at Auckland DHB. (Still haven’t quite worked out who or what.) Anyway, she was calling to tell me my surgery date has been changed. The panic started before she said anymore, ‘cause I thought it was going to be delayed. The excitement set in when she told me the date was being brought forward by two weeks. I’ve now been scheduled to report for pre-admission stuff on Friday, admission on Monday and surgery on Tuesday.

So, after about ten minutes of getting our heads around the changes, Denise and I started making new plans. To be honest, the planning we’d already put in place pretty much covered everything, so apart from some business stuff – which we worked through and finished today – the only things we really had to organise was for someone to collect the mail, (thanks Donna), and to pick up some fuel vouchers for the trip to Auckland tomorrow. Easy-peasy!

When I phoned the Transport Lady at the hospital, the idea was to arrange for some fuel vouchers for the trip up, and accommodation for Denise for the two weeks I’ll be lounging ‘round the ward.

“Sorry”, said she. “We haven’t got any accommodation available in Auckland. All the places we deal with are fully booked. You’ll have to arrange your own accommodation and claim for it later.”

(What the?? What’s happening in Auckland??)

Not a problem. We can sort this out easy.

Yeah, right!!  

After hours and hours and hours of searching through Booking.com, Book-a-Bach, Air B&B, Trivago and Expedia – ok, maybe it was a bit less than that - we found a double room in a hotel in the middle of Auckland City. So now we have a place to stay, which according to the famous Geographer, Mr G Maps, is an eight minute walk away from the hospital.

Another road trip. Tomorrow morning we’ll pack up the car and head off to Auckland yet again. The problem we’re facing tonight is… which car do we take?

Mine’s the most comfortable, but Denise’s has more whistles and bells and we can patch our music into the car system. I guess the question comes down to whether we want to listen to music or talkback on the trip. This is a quandary. What to do? I’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight.  This is a real issue. If I get it wrong, it might have major ramifications for our ears tomorrow.

Man!!! This is too much pressure.

But, I’m looking forward to the mushrooms!! I think I told you about this before. There’s a little café in Cambridge (opposite the old church) that does the best mushroom and bacon dish in the world. Denise can never finish her’s… Bonus!!

Now, I’ve been writing rubbish for the last couple of paragraphs but, we need to sort this next little issue out.

NO TEARS!!

We’ve talked about this before. We’re struggling with this so it might be time to go “off-grid”. We understand and truly appreciate the love and support we are constantly receiving from all of you. But, NO TEARS!! That’s the deal. We would rather hear about your lives and the things that make you laugh, ‘cause these are the things that make us laugh. The positive, the funny and the normal. These are the things that truly help.

I’m not sure how the next few days are going to go, but I probably won’t get back to this for a while. Until I do…

Remember…